UC Manages Armageddon:
The University of California
and Nuclear Weapons.

The model example of military university
collaborative
research is the inception, design, and creation of the atomic
bomb.
Conceived and developed by University of California, the
creation of
the most deadly device ever made was a product of research
funded by
the military and conducted by an elite group of Americaís
university
scientists, professors and graduate students.

Since the Los Alamos Laboratory opened its doors in 1943,
every single
nuclear weapon built for the United States arsenal was
designed at
a University of California managed weapons laboratory. The
history
of the development of Los Alamos and the second National
Laboratory,
Lawrence Livermore laid the foundation for the last fifty
years of
military research and development conducted on Americaís
college
campuses.

In the spring of 1942,
Robert Oppenheimer, later dubbed the father
of the atomic bomb, was asked by University of Chicago
physicist Arthur
Holly Compton to work with him on studying the feasiblity of
producing
a nuclear weapon. With studies under way on the manufacture
of Plutonium
and Uranium, both scientists eagerly researched ways in
which a "superbomb" could
be created. In June of that same year, Oppenheimer organized
a summer
study at his university, UC Berkeley. Attendees included
Compton from
the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago,
graduate
student Robert Serber of the University of Illinois, and
several physics
theorists including Edward Teller. The June 1942 meeting at
UCB provided
the theoretical basis for the design of the atomic bomb,
which was
to become the principal task at Los Alamos during the war.

Upon discovery that the production of a
nuclear bomb
was possible, the scientists still had questions they need
answered,
instruments necessary for production, and a full-time
staff consisting
of Americaís most advanced scientists, many of whom were
prestigious faculty of some of the nationís public
research
institutions. The LANLís website details the need for a
laboratory dedicated to nuclear research: "By September
1942,
the difficulties involved with conducting preliminary
studies on
nuclear weapons at universities scattered throughout the
country
indicated the need for a laboratory dedicated solely to
that purpose."(1)
Theoretical studies were well underway up until this
point, but
a laboratory dedicated to production, research, design,
and testing
was soon underway, under command of General Leslie Groves,
who
was deputy to the chief of construction for the Army Corps
of Engineers
during construction of the Pentagon.

In 1943 construction on the Los Alamos National
Laboratory was
completed. Los Alamos in New Mexico was chosen by
Oppenheimer and
Groves because of its isolated location (it had to be at
least
200 miles from any ocean or national boundary), mild
climate, and
because "Canyons surrounding the site could be used for
explosives
tests."(1) The Office of Scientific Research and
Development
provided funding, and the small town of Los Alamos was
forcefully
evacuated under military command in February 1943. Among
the crew
of 450 scientists and technicians to immediately move into
Los
Alamos were Ernest Lawrence, founder of both the UC
Berkeley and
MIT Radiation Laboratories, and whom the Lawrence
Livermore Laboratory
would later be named, as well as scientists from Stanford,
Purdue,
Columbia, University of Illinois, and University of
Rochester.
The scientists saw their new lab not as a military
institution,
but, "instead, it was to become an outpost of
academia."(1)

The University of California Signs
a Contract

On January 23, 1943 the Office of Scientific Research
(OSRD) and
Development issued a preliminary letter to the University
of California
Regents announcing ìcertain investigations to be directed
by Dr. J. R. Oppenheimerî at the Los Alamos Labs.
Contracts
between the UC and the OSRD had been conducted in similar
fashion
before, for institutoins such as the UC Radiation
Laboratory. "Robert
M. Underhill, the secretary of the Regents of the
University of
California, understood that the contract would be similar
to the
other OSRD contracts at Berkeley and, on that basis,
agreed with
UC President Robert Gordon Sproul to accept the letter of
intent
on Feb. 10, 1943."(1)

The Manhattan District of the Corps of Engineers (MED),
taking
over work on production of the Laboratory from the OSRD,
sealed
the deal on April 15, 1943 when the University of
California Regents
signed a contract to manage the Labs, a contract that has
remained
intact for six decades. General Groves was intent on a
military
takeover of the institution down the road, but many
scientists
were vigorously supportive of University management for
credibility
and access to top scientists. At least one scientist, the
head
of the physics division at Los Alamos issued a letter of
resignation
that would be effective upon the transition of the labs
from the
UC to the military.

Interestingly, the UC Regents upon signing the contract
were unaware
of the project to build a nuclear bomb at the Los Alamos
site.
Not until after the war, after the bombs had been used to
kill
and maim millions of Japanese civilians, did the
University really
become aware of what it was managing. Following the war, a
weak
attempt was made to sever ties with the labs, but it was
never
accomplished. Today, the University of California takes a
proud
stance on its management of the labs, calling it a "public
service to the nation."(2)

The Atomic Energy Commission, created in 1947, was formed
to oversee "nuclear
weapons research, development, production, and testing;
production
of plutonium and weapons grade uranium; milling and
refining of
uranium ore; biomedical research into the effects of
radiation
and nuclear weapons; basic nuclear research in fields such
as chemistry,
physics, and metallurgy; development of nuclear reactors;
and promotion
of a civilian nuclear power industry".3 Since its
inception,
which was a direct result of the creation of the national
nuclear
laboratories, the AEC has been responsible for funding and
oversight
of the management of the labs by the UC. In 1975, the AEC
became
a part of the Department of Energy, with whom the UC is
now contracted
in the management of both LANL and LLNL.

In 1952 UC founded the second national weapons
laboratory, Lawrence
Livermore located in the East Bay, transferring many
research scientists
from the UC Berkeley Radiation Laboratory for increased
work on
nuclear weapons. It was believed that the creation of a
second
laboratory would instigate a rivalry between scientists at
both
labs, creating an atmosphere of competition that would
spur technological
discoveries, and would fuel a US advantage in the arms
race.